Faculty Research Publications (Biomedical Sciences)http://hdl.handle.net/1957/301172015-08-02T22:51:46Z2015-08-02T22:51:46ZMass Media and the Contagion of Fear: The Case of Ebola in AmericaTowers, SherryAfzal, ShehzadBernal, GilbertMedlock, Janet al.http://hdl.handle.net/1957/565222015-07-31T20:53:38Z2015-06-11T00:00:00ZMass Media and the Contagion of Fear: The Case of Ebola in America
Towers, Sherry; Afzal, Shehzad; Bernal, Gilbert; Medlock, Jan; et al.
Background
In the weeks following the first imported case of Ebola in the U. S. on September 29, 2014, coverage of the very limited outbreak dominated the news media, in a manner quite disproportionate to the actual threat to national public health; by the end of October, 2014, there were only four laboratory confirmed cases of Ebola in the entire nation. Public interest in these events was high, as reflected in the millions of Ebola-related Internet searches and tweets performed in the month following the first confirmed case. Use of trending Internet searches and tweets has been proposed in the past for real-time prediction of outbreaks (a field referred to as “digital epidemiology”), but accounting for the biases of public panic has been problematic. In the case of the limited U. S. Ebola outbreak, we know that the Ebola-related searches and tweets originating the U. S. during the outbreak were due only to public interest or panic, providing an unprecedented means to determine how these dynamics affect such data, and how news media may be driving these trends. Methodology:
We examine daily Ebola-related Internet search and Twitter data in the U. S. during the six week period ending Oct 31, 2014. TV news coverage data were obtained from the daily number of Ebola-related news videos appearing on two major news networks. We fit the parameters of a mathematical contagion model to the data to determine if the news coverage was a significant factor in the temporal patterns in Ebola-related Internet and Twitter data.
Conclusions:
We find significant evidence of contagion, with each Ebola-related news video inspiring tens of thousands of Ebola-related tweets and Internet searches. Between 65% to 76% of the variance in all samples is described by the news media contagion model.
This is the publisher’s final pdf. The published article is copyrighted by the author(s) and published by the Public Library of Science. The published article can be found at: http://www.plosone.org/.
2015-06-11T00:00:00ZRelationships Between Diet-Related Changes in the Gut Microbiome and Cognitive FlexibilityMagnusson, K. R.Hauck, L.Jeffrey, B. M.Elias, V.Humphrey, A.Nath, R.Perrone, A.Bermudez, L. E.http://hdl.handle.net/1957/557952015-05-14T19:28:36Z2015-01-01T00:00:00ZRelationships Between Diet-Related Changes in the Gut Microbiome and Cognitive Flexibility
Magnusson, K. R.; Hauck, L.; Jeffrey, B. M.; Elias, V.; Humphrey, A.; Nath, R.; Perrone, A.; Bermudez, L. E.
Western diets are high in fat and sucrose and can influence behavior and gut microbiota. There
is growing evidence that altering the microbiome can influence the brain and behavior. This
study was designed to determine whether diet-induced changes in the gut microbiota could
contribute to alterations in anxiety, memory or cognitive flexibility. Two month old, male C57BL/6
mice were randomly assigned high fat (42% fat, 43% carbohydrate (CHO), high sucrose (12%
fat, 70% CHO (primarily sucrose) or normal chow (13% kcal fat, 62% CHO) diets. Fecal
microbiome analysis, step-down latency, novel object and novel location tasks were performed
prior to and two weeks after diet change. Water maze testing for long- and short-term memory
and cognitive flexibility was conducted during weeks 5-6 post-diet change. Some similarities in
alterations in the microbiome were seen in both the high fat and high sucrose diets (e.g.,
increased Clostridiales), as compared to the normal diet, but the percentage decreases in
Bacteroidales were greater in the high sucrose diet mice. Lactobacillales was only significantly
increased in the high sucrose diet group and Erysipelotrichales was only significantly affected
by the high fat diet. The high sucrose diet group was significantly impaired in early development
of a spatial bias for long-term memory, short-term memory and reversal training, compared to
mice on normal diet. An increased focus on the former platform position was seen in both high
sucrose and high fat groups during the reversal probe trials. There was no significant effect of
diet on step-down, exploration or novel recognitions. Higher percentages of Clostridiales and
lower expression of Bacteroidales in high-energy diets were related to the poorer cognitive
flexibility in the reversal trials. These results suggest that changes in the microbiome may
contribute to cognitive changes associated with eating a Western diet.
This is an author's peer-reviewed final manuscript, as accepted by the publisher. The published article is copyrighted by Elsevier. This article is currently "In-Press" and on publication can be found at: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/neuroscience/
2015-01-01T00:00:00ZXanthohumol improved cognitive flexibility in young miceZamzow, Daniel R.Elias, ValerieLegette, LeeCole L.Choi, JaewooStevens, J. FredMagnusson, Kathy R.http://hdl.handle.net/1957/557922015-05-13T23:45:25Z2014-12-15T00:00:00ZXanthohumol improved cognitive flexibility in young mice
Zamzow, Daniel R.; Elias, Valerie; Legette, LeeCole L.; Choi, Jaewoo; Stevens, J. Fred; Magnusson, Kathy R.
The protein palmitoylation cycle has been shown to be important for protein signaling and
synaptic plasticity. Data from our lab showed a change in the palmitoylation status of certain
proteins with age. A greater percentage of the NMDA receptor subunits GluN2A and GluN2B,
along with Fyn and PSD95 proteins, were palmitoylated in the old mice. The higher level of
protein palmitoylation was also associated with poorer learning scores. Xanthohumol is a
prenylated flavonoid that has been shown to increase beta-oxidation in the livers of rodents,
decreasing circulating free fatty acids in the serum. What is not known is whether the application
of xanthohumol could influence the palmitoylation status of proteins. In this study, young and old
mice were fed a diet supplemented with xanthohumol for 8 weeks. Spatial memory was
assessed with the Morris water maze and protein palmitoylation quantified. The young
xanthohumol-treated mice showed a significant improvement in cognitive flexibility. However,
this appeared to be associated with the young control mice, on a defined, phytoestrogen-deficient
diet, performing as poorly as the old mice and xanthohumol reversing this effect. The
old mice receiving xanthohumol did not significantly improve their learning scores. Xanthohumol
treatment was unable to affect the palmitoylation of NMDA receptor subunits and associated
proteins assessed in this study. This evidence suggests that xanthohumol may play a role in
improving cognitive flexibility in young animals, but it appears to be ineffective in adjusting the
palmitoylation status of neuronal proteins in aged individuals.
This is an author's peer-reviewed final manuscript, as accepted by the publisher. The published article is copyrighted by Elsevier and can be found at: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/behavioural-brain-research/
2014-12-15T00:00:00ZThe Broad-Spectrum Antiviral Compound ST-669 Restricts Chlamydial Inclusion Development and Bacterial Growth and Localizes to Host Cell Lipid Droplets within Treated CellsSandoz, Kelsi M.Valiant, William G.Eriksen, Steven G.Hruby, Dennis E.Allen, Robert D., IIIRockey, Daniel D.http://hdl.handle.net/1957/515632014-10-28T08:00:09Z2014-04-28T00:00:00ZThe Broad-Spectrum Antiviral Compound ST-669 Restricts Chlamydial Inclusion Development and Bacterial Growth and Localizes to Host Cell Lipid Droplets within Treated Cells
Sandoz, Kelsi M.; Valiant, William G.; Eriksen, Steven G.; Hruby, Dennis E.; Allen, Robert D., III; Rockey, Daniel D.
Novel broad-spectrum antimicrobials are a critical component of a strategy for combating antibiotic-resistant pathogens. In this
study, we explored the activity of the broad-spectrum antiviral compound ST-669 for activity against different intracellular bacteria
and began a characterization of its mechanism of antimicrobial action. ST-669 inhibits the growth of three different species
of chlamydia and the intracellular bacterium Coxiella burnetii in Vero and HeLa cells but not in McCoy (murine) cells. The antichlamydial
and anti-C. burnetii activity spectrum was consistent with those observed for tested viruses, suggesting a common
mechanism of action. Cycloheximide treatment in the presence of ST-669 abrogated the inhibitory effect, demonstrating that
eukaryotic protein synthesis is required for tested activity. Immunofluorescence microscopy demonstrated that different chlamydiae
grow atypically in the presence of ST-669, in a manner that suggests the compound affects inclusion formation and organization.
Microscopic analysis of cells treated with a fluorescent derivative of ST-669 demonstrated that the compound localized
to host cell lipid droplets but not to other organelles or the host cytosol. These results demonstrate that ST-669 affects intracellular
growth in a host-cell-dependent manner and interrupts proper development of chlamydial inclusions, possibly through a
lipid droplet-dependent process.
This is the publisher’s final pdf. The published article is copyrighted by the American Society for Microbiology and can be found at: http://aac.asm.org/.
2014-04-28T00:00:00Z